Some Basic Categories of Ch’eng I’s Thought: Heaven–Tao–Li

Abstract

It must be made clear at the outset that Ch’eng I was essentially an ethical teacher whose ultimate concern was the achievement of perfect manhood rather than the construction of a theoretical system, and that it is in the broadest sense of the term that we call his thought a “philosophy”.

Distinction is made in this book between “Heaven and Earth” and “the heaven and the earth”. The former is used in the metaphysical sense, while the latter in the physical sense. It is customary in English to speak of the physical heaven in the plural. But in traditional Chinese thought, heaven is not thought of as more than one. Hence we have used the singular number, sacrificing style for the sake of accuracy.